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Henry 'Hank' McCoy - Beast; Earth 617 - X-Men
Topic Started: May 17 2012, 06:40 PM (71 Views)
Beast
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Dictionary-Me Elmo
X-Men
Real name: Dr. Henry Phillip "Hank" McCoy
Codename/Other Aliases: Beast

Personal

Preferred OOC Username.: John
Email Address: ghynard@gmail.com
IM/AIM/YIM/MSN Username: (MSN) ghynard@hotmail.com

Physical

Age: 30
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 355 lbs.
Hair: Blue
Eyes: Blue

General Appearance: Hank's appearance is one of the most distinctive of any of his mutant colleagues, though, as he himself would readily admit, he would likely lose out to both Warren and Kurt in that particular category. His aspect is neither diabolical nor divine; it is merely bestial.

He is a hulking mass of muscle and blue fur, with noticeably oversized hands and feet, elongated limbs, and a marked tendency to eschew walking erect in favor of a more apelike, quadrupedal manner of locomotion. His manner of dress is as free of pretension as any other facet of his personality. When off-duty, he tends to favor colorful sweaters and comfortable trousers, while in the science and medical bays of the Mansion he can usually be seen sporting a spotless lab coat especially tailored to his bulky frame.

Though he normally forgoes wearing shoes, given the abnormal size and durability of his feet, he does own a pair of impressively large fuzzy bunny slippers that--to Hank's mind, at least--complement his white coat very nicely. Hank's eyesight has deteriorated over years of squinting at miniscule text on computer monitors and inside the weighty volumes that make up his personal collection of books, and he requires glasses to correct this defect. He wears these specially-fitted frames much of the time, which he feels adds a splash of irony to his otherwise markedly simian countenance.

Personal

Known relatives: Sadie McCoy (grandmother), Edna McCoy (mother), Norton McCoy (father), Robert McCoy (uncle)
Group affiliation: X-Men (617)
Mutant Powers: Hank boasts superhuman strength, agility, endurance, speed, and dexterity. He is strong enough to lift 2,000 pounds. His legs are sufficiently powerful to enable him to leap fourteen feet high in a standing high jump, and twenty-two feet in a standing broad jump. By wedging his fingers and toes into the smallest of cracks and applying his viselike grip, he is able to crawl up brick walls. Moreover, he has enough physical power to smash through a four-inch thick oaken door with a single blow, or tie a three-inch solid steel bar into a knot.

Hank possesses the easy agility of a great ape and the acrobatic prowess of the most accomplished circus aerialist and acrobat. He can walk a tightrope or slack rope as easily as most people can walk on a sidewalk. Complicated sequences of gymnastic stunts featuring such crowd pleasers as flips, rolls, and springs are not beyond his capabilities, and he may walk on his hands for many hours without tiring. He can easily match (or top) any Olympic record at gymnastics apparatus, such as flying rings, climbing ropes, horizontal bars, and trampolines. Further, his manual and pedal dexterity are so great that he can write using both hands at once, or tie knots in rope with his toes.

Being quick on his feet, Hank is able to run on all fours at approximately 40 miles per hour for short sprints. His stamina is approximately triple that of a well-trained athlete in his prime. And his physiology is durable enough to permit him to take a three-story fall without a broken bone or sprain--provided he lands on his feet.

After imbibing a serum of his own creation designed to awaken latent mutant abilities, Hank underwent a series of changes which further enhanced his mutation, the most visible result of which was his transformation into his present furry form. These modifications also served to greatly increase his senses of smell and hearing, granting him the ability to track a particular person by scent alone over considerable distances--though perhaps not as effectively as the likes of Wolverine or Sabertooth. His recuperative abilities were also augmented, allowing him to recover from injury at about twice the normal human rate.

He is an accomplished unarmed combatant, using his increased agility and strength in an acrobatic fighting style that is uniquely his own. A gifted healer, Hank is well-suited to his role as team medic, and he is one of the world's leading authorities in the fields of biochemistry and genetics.

His technical skills are likewise prodigious; he derives enormous satisfaction in working with his hands. A lover of language, Hank speaks Latin, ancient and modern Greek, and some German. He is presently teaching himself French and Russian as well. His brutish appearance notwithstanding, Hank far prefers discussion to combat, and possesses both the skill and patience of a natural-born diplomat, when the need arises.

AU Strengths and Weaknesses: While his physical capabilities are far beyond the human norm, Hank is far from indestructible. And, although he has more or less come to terms with his inhuman visage, the visceral reaction his brutish form tends to engender at first glance in those who have not yet come to know the sophisticated intellectual beneath the blue fur is a source of continual strain. But perhaps Hank's most glaring flaw is his occasional ambivalence towards his role as mutant superhero. He occasionally vacillates between his devotion to Xavier's dream (and the intensive labor required to bring it to fruition) and his personal goals as a scientist and man of culture.

History: Henry Phillip McCoy was born in Dunfee Illinois to proud parents Norton and Edna McCoy. From the moment of Hank's arrival into the world, his abnormally large feet and hands made it clear to all (but the most oblivious) who saw him that he was a mutant. As he matured, it soon became apparent that his intellectual gifts were more than a match for his superior physical gifts, though his strange appearance ensured that he would lead a mostly isolated childhood. This would change when he encountered Jennifer Nyles, his first love; with her help, he overcame many of his insecurities, even going so far as to try out for his high school football team. With Jennifer at his side, the lonely academic turned football star enjoyed a short period of happiness, which would end when a criminal gang known as the Conquistadors kidnapped Hank's parents. They intended to use the captive McCoys to compel Hank to use his gifts in their service, mostly for the commission of various petty crimes. His salvation came in the form of the newly-minted X-Men, whom he soon joined as one of the original members. The ties he formed with his oldest teammates, Scott Summers, Warren Worthington III, Jean Grey, and the youthful Bobby Drake would last a lifetime, as the X-Men became Hank's surrogate family.

During his early years with the X-Men, he pursued a short-lived relationship with a part-time librarian, Vera Cantor, though little came of it. Over time, Hank became disenchanted with the live of a mutant superhero and left the team in order to pursue a career in professional wrestling. This, however, soon proved to be little more than a brief diversion, and he soon returned to the congenial fellowship of the X-Men--the frequent dangers to life and limb presented by their various undertakings notwithstanding. During an encounter with the infamous Kraven the Hunter, Hank caught his first glimpse of his latent, feral nature when he was hit with one of the villain's drugged darts. This had the effect of sending the normally cerebral Beast into a berserk rage, an incident that would disturb Hank greatly for some time to come. Following the incident with Krakoa, the living island, and the formation of the new X-Men team, Hank again left his longtime comrades in the company of Bobby Drake and others.

Having decided to hang up his tights for the time being, he soon found employment with the Brand Corporation, which allowed him to use his scientific aptitude for the betterment of all mankind. Specializing in bio-chemistry, Hank soon discovered a certain hormonal extract that triggered mutations, and developed a serum based on this compound. Lacking any other on whom he could test this new concoction (not in good conscience, at any rate), Hank ingested it himself, which had the immediately noticeable effect of causing him to develop his present, furry aspect. He did his best to hide these profound alterations from his employers, but in time his duel life was discovered and he was forced to leave Brand.

Coming to the decision that it was time for him to pursue more direct routes to improving the imperfect world in which he lived, Hank next joined the renowned Avengers, a role to which he would devote considerable time. During his tenure on this new team, he found himself for the first time in his life not only accepted by the general public, but actually celebrated as the hero he had long tried to be. Perhaps owing to the headiness of the elixir of fame, Hank rekindled his relationship with Vera Cantor--but again, this was not destined to last. After several notable exploits among the Avengers, Hank resigned from this team in order to join the newly-formed Defenders, along with his old friends Bobby Drake and Warren Worthington. Unfortunately, the Defenders would come to a very sad end indeed, leaving Hank and the other former X-Men to return to as normal a life as they could manage, given the circumstances.

Hank and Bobby rented an apartment in New York City, but their placid lives were again thrown into chaos by the return of Scott Summers and Jean Grey from their semi-retirement after the Phoenix incident, and interest in reforming a team, along with Hank and Warren. During his time with X-Factor, Hank was captured by one Carl Maddicks, who was obsessed with finding a cure for mutation. Once more, Beast found himself a test subject for a mystery serum; however, this formula appeared to reverse the effects of Hank's previous experiment, giving him a passably human appearance once more.

Unfortunately, this was to be a finite reprieve. During a battle with the vile Horsemen of Apocalypse, a close encounter with Pestilence left Hank in truly dire straits. From that point, whenever Hank attempted to make use of his prodigious physical strength, his intellect diminished. At its most extreme, this effect left the mutant genius with the mind of a small child. But when Bobby found himself in the clutches of Infectia, a mutant with the power to turn men into monsters with a kiss, Hank interceded in order to save his friend. The result of this intercepted kiss was Beast's return to his familiar, hirsute form, though mercifully, his intelligence was restored to normal. When X-Factor was re-absorbed by the X-Men, Hank went along for the ride, becoming a part of the Blue Task Force. Appropriate, no?

Against all odds, Hank later developed feelings for Trish Tilby, a news reporter. However, their differing lifestyles and wildly divergent personal philosophies would make for a decidedly on-again, off-again relationship.

With so much of his time devoted to scientific inquiry, Hank rarely has time for field work anymore, much less socializing. His role in the X-Men has been reduced to a largely supporting one, primarily providing medical treatment and technical and logistical assistance.

Sample RP

Waived.
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